MUSIC THEORY WITH COLORS? An Overview of Meta-Harmony

Summary

Meta-harmony, created by Tom Glazebrook in 2020, introduces a fresh perspective on music theory using colors and geometry. The system builds on the foundation of fully diminished 7th chords, which form the basis of chordal movement, and explores secondary colors, chord resolutions, and extensions. By mapping these concepts onto the color wheel and geometric models, such as hypercubes, Meta-harmony provides a visual and analytical framework for music composition and analysis. This approach supports both functional and non-functional harmony, offering tools like paratonic scales and chord substitutions. While not essential for creating music, Meta-harmony offers a unique lens for musicians to explore harmonic structures.

Takeaways

• 😀 Meta-Harmony, created by Tom Glazebrook, introduces a new perspective on music theory using colors and geometry.
• 🎨 Primary colors in Meta-Harmony are represented by the three fully diminished 7th chords: red, blue, and yellow.
• 🔄 Secondary colors, created by mixing primary colors, form the basis for common major and minor triads: orange (red + yellow), purple (red + blue), and green (yellow + blue).
• 🔵 The color wheel model, when applied to the circle of fifths, reveals three axes of minor third-related keys (green, orange, and purple).
• 🔄 Meta-Harmony proposes that the tonic, subdominant, and dominant functions are represented in different columns, creating a visual chart to display chord movements.
• 🎼 The system can be used to analyze common chord progressions like perfect cadences, tritone substitutions, and more unusual cadences like the Kyrie Eleison cadence.
• 📏 Meta-Harmony includes geometric models such as alpha cubes and hypercubes to physically represent harmony, with additional geometrical models like the arcade and hexaprisms.
• 🔺 Diminished chords in Meta-Harmony can resolve in three ways: complementary, syntonic, and common resolutions.
• 🎹 The system categorizes chord extensions (e.g., 6th, 7th, 9th) and how they resolve in complementary, syntonic, or common ways, depending on their relationship with the root chord.
• 🎶 Paratonic scales are momentary scales applied above a non-diatonic chord, altering the original scale to fit chromatic chords without awkward intervals like the augmented 2nd.
• 🚫 Meta-Harmony is not a necessity for great harmony; it’s just one system among many, and you can choose to use its concepts without the need for colors or geometric models.

Q & A

What is the primary idea behind Meta-Harmony?

Meta-Harmony is a musical analysis system created by Tom Glazebrook in 2020 that uses colors and geometry to present a new perspective on music theory. It focuses on how chords and their functions interact, offering a more visual and conceptual understanding of harmony.

What are the primary colors in Meta-Harmony, and what do they represent?

The primary colors in Meta-Harmony are red, blue, and yellow. These colors represent the three fully diminished 7th chords, which form the foundation of all chordal movement in the system.

How does Meta-Harmony use colors to explain chord progressions?

In Meta-Harmony, combining the primary colors (red, blue, and yellow) results in secondary colors: orange, purple, and green. These colors are used to represent common major and minor triads, and they are placed on a color wheel to illustrate their relationships and movement across the circle of fifths.

What is the purpose of the 'color wheel' in Meta-Harmony?

The color wheel in Meta-Harmony shows how different chords relate to one another through the color-coded representation of triads. It helps visualize key relationships and how chords can move between different tonal centers, including identifying minor third-related keys.

What are 'approach chords' or 'coupled chords' in Meta-Harmony?

Approach chords (or coupled chords) are pairs of secondary dominant and secondary minor 6 chords. They are characterized by the tritone interval inside them, which creates tension that resolves directly to other chords in the system, typically from the dominant to tonic function chords.

What is the significance of the 'hypercube' in Meta-Harmony?

The hypercube is a geometrical model in Meta-Harmony that visually represents the relationships between chord functions in three-dimensional space. It is created by stacking smaller 'alpha cubes' representing each color (primary chord), and it helps to visualize harmony spatially.

What are the different types of resolutions for diminished chords in Meta-Harmony?

Diminished chords in Meta-Harmony resolve in three ways: complementary resolution (strongest), syntonic resolution, and common resolution (weakest). These resolutions correspond to how diminished chords move within the color wheel or to different chord functions.

How does Meta-Harmony address chord extensions in jazz and modern harmony?

Meta-Harmony categorizes chord extensions based on their ability to resolve to specific chord functions. Extensions such as the 9th, 11th, and 7th can resolve to complementary, syntonic, or common chords, based on their color relationships and the chords they are attached to.

What is a 'paratonic scale' and how is it used in Meta-Harmony?

A paratonic scale is a momentary scale applied above a non-diatonic chord to adjust the original scale, making it fit with the chromatic chord. It helps avoid awkward intervals (like the augmented 2nd) and makes the scale more melodically suitable.

Does Meta-Harmony claim that composers consciously used its system in their works?

No, Meta-Harmony does not claim that composers intentionally thought in terms of its system. Instead, it suggests that modern musicians can use the system to analyze and extract useful ideas from classical compositions for their own practice and composition.